Fiat Chrysler fined $70 million by U.S. for failure to report safety data

Rosekind: "NHTSA's enforcement actions in recent months have been designed not only to penalize previous actions, but to increase safety going forward."

WASHINGTON -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will pay a $70 million fine for failing to report claims of death and injury to U.S. auto safety regulators as required by law.

The fine, announced today, comes after FCA told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in September that it had discovered “significant” under-reporting of crash deaths and injuries possibly linked to vehicle defects as required under the TREAD Act.

Along with the fine, FCA acknowledged that its reporting failures dated to when the TREAD Act first took effect in 2003, according to a U.S. Transportation Department statement announcing the fine.

“FCA US LLC accepts these penalties and is revising its processes to ensure regulatory compliance,” the company said in a statement. “However, FCA US is confident that it identified and addressed all issues that arose during the relevant time period, using alternate data sources.”

FCA has also commissioned a third-party audit to probe the full scope of its reporting failures, according to the U.S. DOT.

NHTSA has ramped up enforcement of its so-called early warning reporting requirements set by the TREAD Act, signed into law in 2000 following the Ford-Firestone safety crisis. NHTSA fined American Honda $70 million in January for similar reporting failures.

Under the law, vehicle manufacturers must submit reports of deaths or injuries sustained in accidents that could be linked to vehicle safety defects, including lawsuits, consumer complaints and warranty claims.

“We need FCA and other automakers to move toward a stronger, more proactive safety culture, and when they fall short, we will continue to exercise our enforcement authority to set them on the right path,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.

The new fine is in addition to a $70 million cash penalty FCA agreed to pay as part of a July consent order to settle a U.S. probe into a pattern of violations found in FCA’s handling of 23 recalls since 2009. Under the July consent order, Fiat Chrysler still faces up to $35 million in deferred penalties if it fails to meet the terms of the deal.

“NHTSA’s enforcement actions in recent months have been designed not only to penalize previous actions, but to increase safety going forward,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “FCA has expressed a desire to use this situation as a stepping stone to a stronger, more proactive safety posture, and NHTSA is ready to work with FCA and the industry as a whole to improve safety.”